UK Coastguard called to assist Team Philips composite catamaran On March 29 the Team

05 April 2000

Philips crew called Falmouth Coastguard to request assistance after they had noticed problems with the bow of the catamaran during sea trials. The crew reported that the bows were beginning to break up on the hulls and it was later confirmed that the port side bow had broken off although the starboard side remained stable. The catamaran that was designed to beat the world's fastest ocean racers was towed into St Mary's after encountering problems over 20 miles north-west of the Scillies. The 120ft-long boat, the world's largest carbon fibre structure, is now anchored to a buoy, the remains of her shattered port bow supported by giant air bags. Designed to pierce the huge waves of the Southern Ocean waves at over 40 knots, the craft began to break up in winds of 25 knots, just two weeks after the Queen officially named her.